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Crystal’s $109 Grocery Purchases

Gretchen’s $104 Grocery Shopping Trip and Weekly Menu Plan for 6

Crystal’s $109 Grocery Purchases

If you’re new here, I practice the Buy Ahead Principle — which means that what we buy each week is often for future weeks. We stock up on the best deals and markdowns each week and that means that we then have a variety of items from previous shopping trips to use to plan a menu from.

With the increase in grocery prices, I’ve decided to raise our grocery budget to $100 a week because I’ve not been having enough wiggle room to stock up like I’d want to. This amount will still challenge me to be creative while also giving me enough breathing room to stock up and continue to practice the Buy Ahead Principle.

In addition to practicing the Buy Ahead Principle, I Reverse Meal Plan. This means that I plan based upon what we have on hand plus what good sales/markdowns I found at the stores. (Read more about Reverse Meal-Planning here.)

{Follow me on Instagram stories for real-time videos on what I’m buying if you don’t want to have to wait for me to get the post written up for the blog!}

I was $50 under-budget this month, so I rolled it over to this week. Kroger had peppers for $0.99 — a little less expensive than usual and something Kierstyn and I love having for lunches or we eat them sliced for snacks.

Silly faces in the grocery store!

Kroger also had butter priced at $3.49 this week. It’s been $3.99 recently so I was excited for a little savings on a staple item we use a lot of at our house!

Avocados were on sale again — this time for $1.99 for 4. I stick them in the fridge until I am ready for them to ripen and then stick them out on the counter for a day or two until they are soft. Then I stick them back in the fridge as this stops their ripening and prolongs their life by quite a bit. I can usually keep them for 2-3 weeks this way!

My kids were very excited about the chocolate milk deal!

I was most excited about marked down flowers! I got two bunches for just $1 each!!

Blueberries were $3 for 18 oz. and the frozen pizzas were $2.99 each. (I like to keep these on hand for quick dinners or snacks for the kids. These are especially great if they have friends over at the last minute!)

These taco kits were marked down to just $0.99!!

We had some ground pork and turkey I’d gotten marked down and frozen + taco seasoning I’d gotten marked down, so I bought lettuce and tomatoes and we used cheese we had on hand and paired this with the taco kits to make tacos and taco bowls for dinner last night.

The ice cream sandwiches were $1.99/box and ice cream was $1.99/carton. And the pears were $2.50 for two pounds.

We spent around $98 and change at Kroger and then bought eggs from friends who have chickens for $10 — so a little under $109 total!

Gretchen’s $104 Grocery Shopping Trip and Weekly Menu Plan for 6

I was really sick last week so didn’t make it to the grocery store and just did a Walmart order instead. It was nice to finally get back into the stores and get some great deals this week!

Aldi

2 dozen Eggs – $2.50 each

2 Half & Half – $2.39 each

1 Olive Oil – $2.85

1 Grape Jelly – $1.99

1/2 gallon Milk – $1.83

1 Peanut Butter – $1.69

1 can Pumpkin – $1.15

2 pkg MooTubes – $1.55 each

1 lb Butter – $3.98

1 bag Frozen Strawberries – $3.35

1 Applesauce Cups – $1.45

1 bag Frozen Chicken Breasts – $9.49

1 bag Kettle Chips – $1.65

1 bag Mini Cucumbers – $1.89

1 bag Shredded Cheese – $2.99

1 bag Baby Carrots – $0.95

2 pkg Zucchini – $2.28 and $2.21

1 Baking Powder – $1.45

2.84 lbs Red Grapes – $3.95

1 pkg Bagels – $1.79

1 loaf Bread – $0.99

2 pkg Chocolate Chips – $1.99 each

1 pkg Peanut Butter Crackers – $1.15

1 pkg Fruit & Grain Bars – $1.49

Total: $67.43

Harris Teeter

2 bags Unbleached Flour – $1.99 each

1 bag Sugar – $1.47

2.29 lbs Ground Beef – $6.85

1 bag Pears – Marked down to $0.99

1 huge bag Bananas – Marked down to $1

Total: $14.29

Ingles

5 lbs Apples – $3.98

1 huge carton Organic Spinach – Marked down to $1.99

1 pkg Bacon – $4.98

4 boxes Annie’s Mac & Cheese – $0.98 each

Total: $14.87

United Grocery Outlet

4 Lunchables – Marked down to $0.50 each

1 pkg Deli Meat Ham – $1.99

1 pkg Pie Crusts – $1

3 Dole Mandarin Oranges – $1 each

Total: $7.99

Total for all groceries: $104.58

Menu Plan for This Week

Breakfasts

Cereal, Eggs, Bacon, Yogurt, Bagels, Pumpkin Muffins, Fruit/Spinach Smoothies

Lunches

Lunchables/Veggies, Mac & Cheese/Grapes x 2, Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches/Chips/Carrot Sticks x 2, Ham Sandwiches/Mandarin Oranges/Sliced Pears, Leftovers